At the George Washington University, Cupertino, California-based Monta Vista High School’s student, Angela Zhang has been awarded the Grand Prize of $100,000 for her project titled ‘Design of Image-guided, Photo-thermal Controlled Drug Releasing Multifunctional Nanosystem for the Treatment of Cancer Stem Cells’ in the Individual category of the 2011 Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology.
Six regional winning teams and six regional winning individuals participated in this year Siemens Competition National Finals hosted by the George Washington University. In the project, Angela developed an iron oxide and gold-based nanoparticle that is capable of killing cancer stem cells when selectively delivered to the tumor site with the drug salinomycin. The versatile nanoparticle integrates imaging and therapy into one platform, while its iron oxide and gold combination facilitates both photoacoustic and MRI imaging.
Competition judge, Dr. Tejal Desai, who also serves as a Professor of the University of California San Francisco’s Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, stated that Angela developed a nanoparticle that resembles a Swiss army knife for eradicating cancer stem cells. She demonstrated her innovation expertise in developing a nanoparticle system that allows the controlled release of drugs to the tumor site, while performing non-invasive imaging.
Desai further said that Angela’s research is significant in developing novel target-specific cancer treatments using nanotechnology. In her project, she showed her multidisciplinary skills from developing the nanoparticle to demonstrating its efficiency in cancer treatment, she said. Angela was also the winner of the 2010 and 2011 Intel International Science & Engineering Fair Grand Award in the health science and medical field.
Source: http://www.gwu.edu/